Vandals hit at Mellieha beehives

Vandals have caused hundreds of liri worth of damage to 24 beehives in Mellieha belonging to apiarist Arnold Grech.

Mr Grech, who has been keeping bees for over 50 years, noticed the damage on Wednesday and has since been trying to salvage what he can from the vandalised hives.

"Whoever tried to steal the hives could not get them out of the field they were in, so they damaged them.

"I have filed a report with the Qawra police and want to thank them for their cooperation and the spot-checks they carry out to deter such vandalism," Mr Grech said.

Mr Grech explained that millions of bees are crushed when the hives are toppled over because they get trapped between the honey combs.

"I could not believe my eyes when I saw the extent of the wanton damage. I`d rather give bees away than have someone causing so much harm," he said.

During the month of June, bees produce honey from wild thyme (saghtar) when this plant is in flower. In October, bees produce honey from carob trees while between February and March they feed and pollinate borage-fidloqqom, red clover-silla, and the white thistle -xewk abjad.

During February and March, bees help pollinate citrus, stone fruit and vegetables among other plants.

Bee-keeping was becoming more expensive, Mr Grech said, particularly with the rising cost of medication, especially to guard against the disease varroa jacobsonii which results in all sorts of deformities in larvae.

"This disease causes great losses for bee-keepers because it decimates bee populations," he said.